Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for producing bio-based homoserine lactone and bio-based organic acid and their derivatives.
Description of the Prior Art
Raw material for producing industrially useful gamma-butyrolactone, 1,4-butanediol, tetrahydrofuran and the like, are mostly petrochemicals, for example, maleic anhydride, anhydrous succinic acid, acetylene, butadiene and the like.
Thus, there have recently been attempts to use environmental-friendly bio-based materials which can solve environmental concerns including the emission of pollutants and the exhaustion of natural resources and can be renewable, as substitutes for conventional petrochemicals, raw material for producing gamma-butyrolactone, 1,4-butanediol, tetrahydrofuran and the like.
For example, biodegradable polybutylene succinate can be produced by esterifying 1,4-butanediol with succinic acid and polycondensing the resulting oligomer by transesterification, and polybutylene terephthalate can be produced by esterification of 1,4-butanediol with terephthalic acid.
In recent years, succinic acid has been produced from biomass by direct microbial fermentation and has been commercially used for the production of tetrahydrofuran, 1,4-butanediol, gamma-butyrolactone and the like (Bio-Amber Inc.). US Patent Publication No. 2011/0159572 discloses a microbial organisms containing a 1,4-butanediol (BDO) pathway comprising at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 1,4-butanediol (BDO) pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 1,4-butanediol.
However, there were no reports yet of the use of bio-based homoserine lactone and bio-based organic acid, obtained by chemical conversion of O-acyl homoserine produced by a microorganism, as a starting material for the synthesis of industrially useful 1,4-butanediol, gamma-butyrolactone, tetrahydrofuran and the like.